The Detroit Lions fell to 8-7 with a shocking 29-24 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday — and now the Lions’ chances of making the playoffs are up. Only 6%According to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Detroit trailed the Steelers for most of the second half after quarterback Jared Goff was sacked for a safety with 9:42 remaining in the third quarter, giving Pittsburgh a 12-10 lead. That set the stage for a wild fourth quarter, which began with the Steelers following a safety on a 17-play, nearly 10-minute drive that culminated in a field goal.
After Pittsburgh took a 15-10 lead, its defense forced a three-and-out, and four plays later the Steelers scored on a 45-yard run by Jaylen Warren to push their advantage to two scores.
The Lions’ offense, which at this point in the second half had run just six plays for minus-8 yards, finally got going. Jared Goff drove a 10-play, 74-yard drive in less than four minutes to cut the lead to 22-17. Calif Raymond brought Detroit within one score with a clutch touchdown in the fourth.
But Pittsburgh struck back almost immediately. Three plays after Raymond scored, the Steelers got back into the end zone thanks to another 45-yard touchdown run by Warren.
However, the Lions responded by engineering another 10-play drive capped by a Jahmir Gibbs touchdown.
The chaos began on the next drive. Pittsburgh got to Detroit’s 18-yard line and called on Chris Boswell for a 37-yard field goal. Boswell took the kick from the right side upright, putting Detroit in position to go for the go-ahead touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game.
With just one timeout, the Lions drove the ball into the red zone. With less than 25 seconds left, Detroit scored first from the 1-yard line. That’s when more madness ensued.
First, it looked like the Lions had scored the go-ahead touchdown, only to have the score called back for an offensive pass interference penalty.
Before the next snap, Detroit was called for a false start, pushing the offense from the 1-yard line to the 15-yard line. After a 7-yard pass put the Lions closer to the end zone, Goff threw back-to-back incompletes, including a third-down touchdown by Isaac Tesla in the end zone.
Then, on fourth down, a controversial call ended the game. Goff threw full to Amon-Ra St. Brown, but he was short of the end zone. When defenders pushed him back, St. Brown gave the ball back to Goff, who raced into the end zone for a touchdown as time expired.
However, there were multiple flags on the play, and after a long debate, the referees ruled that even though Goff scored, St. Brown had committed offensive pass interference, eliminating the touchdown and ending the game.
The Lions entered the game in eighth place and an outside playoff picture in the NFC. Detroit still has a path to the postseason, but it’s a narrow path.
The Lions will need to win their remaining two games against the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears (both on the road), while the Green Bay Packers will need to lose their final two games of the season against the Baltimore Ravens and Minnesota Vikings.